Big Building on Campus

November 15, 2003 · by DesignIntelligence

New structures by prominant architects and firms are appearing on campuses across the nation. A few of the most notable:

This fall, the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago opened the McCormick Tribune Campus Center, designed by Rem Koolhaas. This summer, Helmut Jahn’s first residence hall design opened there. It was the first new building on campus in almost 40 years, and the first building by Jahn in Chicago in a decade. Other aspects of the award-winning master plan included revitalization of Mies van der Rohe campus buildings.

In June, Frank Gehry was named winner for the University of Connecticut’s School of Fine Arts’ architectural competition. Competition was stiff, including Zaha Hadid and Mack Scogin/Merrill Elam Architects.

Gehry is also at MIT, where the Stata Center for Computer, Information and Intelligence Sciences is set to open in January. Stephen Holl’s Simmons Hall, a new dorm, opened to great fanfare there this year.

In September, Dartmouth announced plans for lots of new work: dorms, a dining hall, a new math department, an Academic Centers building, an Engineering Sciences Center, and an addition to the Sudikoff Laboratory for Computer Science. The firms involved are in the dorms are Moore Ruble Yudell of Santa Monica and Bruner/Cott Architects of Cambridge. The buildings seek silver LEED ratings.These firms were also involved in the college’s 2001 master plan for its north campus.

At Georgia Tech, Thompson, Ventulett & Stainback’s ambitious Technology Square opened this fall. The $180 million complex includes Tech’s Dupree College of Management, an Executive Education Center, a 250-room hotel, bookstore, an economic development institute and more. The Square hopes to bring walking, life and commerce to Atlanta’s midtown.

This summer, the University of California Regents adopted a policy that would require all new campus buildings meet USGBC standards. The policies call for recycled materials, water conservation, and renewable energy sources. New construction/renovation plans submitted after the start of the 2004-05 fiscal year must meet defined energy-efficiency and green-building standards. Medical acute care facilities would be exempt from the policy, but separate standards for those buildings will come. UC Merced, the system’s 10th campus (currently under construction) has already pledged to use green building standards for all academic buildings.